Amber Riley Wins Season 17 of 'Dancing With the Stars'
Nov. 26, 2013 — -- In a thrilling season finale of "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday night, Amber Riley and Derek Hough took home the Mirror Ball Trophy after scoring a perfect 30 on their final dance.
The "Glee" star, 27, and Hough did a fusion dance, combining the Samba and Quickstep to win Season 17.
"DWTS" judge Carrie Ann Inaba went as far as to say Riley and Hough created a "whole new dance" with their performance.
After the win, Riley said she did this competition because she "didn't know if I could do it." She added that all women of all sizes can do whatever they put their mind to and screamed in joy.
Jack Osbourne was the first to be eliminated with his partner, Cheryl Burke, after they scored a 27 with their final dance and finished in third place. Osbourne, 28, compared himself to Rocky Balboa after the elimination, saying he felt like he won by just going the distance.
Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff finished second after scoring a 27 on the night. The "High School Musical" star, 24, said he was just happy for the experience and thanked his partner Smirnoff for the opportunity.
Click HERE for the full recap of all the dances and ALL the highlights.
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Last night, "Dancing With the Stars" fans had to say goodbye to Bill Engvall, who took his elimination with class and in stride by joking, "It proves to me there is a God, because I don't think I can make one more dance."
Tonight at 9 p.m., the second installment of the two-part finale takes place, and one of the three remaining finalists will be crowned champion.
Amber Riley and Derek Hough led the way last night with 64 points, while Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff were right on their heels with a 62. Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke finished with 57.
The remaining duos have had since last night to put together another dance, which combines two styles. Amber and Derek are doing the samba/quickstep, Corbin and Karina the cha-cha/foxtrot, and Jack and Cheryl a paso doble/salsa.
So, who will win the Mirror Ball Trophy?
